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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022178">Birthday Boy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedOTPs/pseuds/DoomedOTPs'>DoomedOTPs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Men's Football RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:15:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>841</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedOTPs/pseuds/DoomedOTPs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Bernd Leno's birthday and his partner, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, is 700 miles away. They'll have to settle for a phone call.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bernd Leno/Marc-André ter Stegen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Birthday Boy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's 7 p.m. in London and Bernd Leno still hasn't heard from his boyfriend yet. Because of the time difference, he knew it was 8 p.m. in Barcelona and Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to be home by now. Practice would have ended hours ago and Marc wouldn't leave for a team dinner until 9 p.m. since everyone ate so late in Spain. What was keeping him from wishing Bernd a happy birthday? Did he forget? No. Surely not. Bernd checked his phone again. No missed calls. No unread text messages. He sighed and put his phone down. He should get ready. His Arsenal teammates were taking him out to dinner to celebrate his birthday. </p><p>Bernd looked in the mirror. He had showered and his hair had dried, but there was no product in his hair yet. He was in his bathrobe and slippers. By his calculations, he had about 20 minutes before he'd have to leave the house to reach the restaurant in time. Reluctantly, Bernd walked to his closet and picked out a nice, light blue, full-sleeve, button-down shirt. The color apparently made his eyes 'pop.' He paired it black dress pants and shiny black shoes. The shoes were still shiny because he hardly wore them. He was usually in his cleats during training; otherwise, he was wearing his comfortable sneakers. After dressing, styling his hair and putting on just a hint of cologne, Bernd looked himself over in the mirror.</p><p>"Not bad,' he said aloud. He smiled, but it looked strained - it didn't reach his eyes. Bernd knew he wouldn't be able to fool anyone who really knew him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and checked his phone. 7:22 p.m. He needed to head out. Bernd drove to the restaurant and parked his car in the parking lot. He looked around and saw about 30 cars there. Everyone else must already be inside. He knew Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette - Auba and Laca to their friends - had rented the whole place out so that they could celebrate without fans or other people prying. And while Bernd was usually thankful that he had such amazing friends, tonight he wished that they had forgotten about him and his "special day." He really wasn't in the mood to party right now. </p><p>As Bernd was about to exit his car, his phone rang. Bernd thought about ignoring it, but changed his mind at the last second. It could be his parents or his brother. It could be an emergency. It could be something terrible that needed his attention right away. Turns out, it was just his boyfriend. Wait- his boyfriend. Bernd simultaneously felt relieved and aggravated that Marc had chosen this moment to call him. Bernd considered letting it go to voicemail before ultimately answering. </p><p>"Hello?"</p><p>"Bernd? Happy birthday, mein Schatz!"*** </p><p>"So you finally remembered?"</p><p>A pause before Marc replied. "Did you think I forgot?"</p><p>"What did you expect me to think? The day's almost over and I've got to go now to enjoy my team dinner. You couldn't have at least texted me before?" Bernd tried not to let the hurt seep into his voice, but he knew he had failed miserably. </p><p>"Bernd, I'm so sorry! Baby, I swear I didn't forget. We had a double training session today and then Sam got injured, so I went to visit him in the hospital and I just lost track of time." When Marc finally stopped to take a breath, he realized that Bernd hadn't said anything. Bernd usually laughed and told him to slow down when he spoke this quickly. </p><p>A long sigh came over the line and Bernd knew that Marc was trying to collect his thoughts. Bernd found himself sighing internally. He knew he was a bit unfair to Marc, especially given what Marc said had happened. He wanted to tell Marc that he wasn't really mad, but was interrupted when he heard a knock at his window. It was Laca.</p><p>"Lennox! What are you doing? Come inside! We've already started partying." It was obvious from how loudly he was yelling that Laca had already started drinking a while ago.  </p><p>Bernd held up a finger indicating that he needed a minute. </p><p>"I have to go. I'm at the restaurant now. I'll talk to you later. I- I love you, Marc."</p><p>Bernd hung up before Marc could reply. He needed to keep his emotions in control before stepping inside the restaurant. Bernd put his phone in his pocket and stepped out of his car. Laca immediately hugged him and nearly crushed him with how tightly he held him. Laca leaned back and tiptoed up to plant a kiss on Bernd's cheek. "Joyeux anniversaire mon frere."***</p><p>A genuine smile broke out on Bernd's face. He knew he was about to walk into a room full of people that loved him. His brothers. No doubt that they had something special planned. Time to go and enjoy himself. He'd call Marc back and sort everything out later.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is not a one-shot. I will post another chapter as soon as I get a chance. The main focus will be on Bernd and Marc, so don't expect the other characters tagged to be a big part of the story. They make appearances... that's all. 😂</p></blockquote></div></div>
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